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Hi friends! I’m really, really late on my reviews lately, so I thought I’d give you two for one here with mini reviews of two contemporary reads: Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett and Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer. Here goes!
Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett Published by Simon Pulse on November 10, 2020
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Buy on Amazon, Book Depository, Wordery, Barnes & Noble, Publisher, Bookshop
Goodreads
In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, a rule-abiding teen embraces her more rebellious side while falling for her ex-boyfriend’s arch-nemesis.
Josie Saint-Martin is well-versed in the art of concealment. Bullied as a child, she’s spent most of her life with her single mother, moving from city to city, covering up what she doesn’t want others to see, comfortable behind the lens of her favorite vintage camera . . .until Josie’s grandmother dies and they return to her mother’s historical New England hometown to run the family bookstore. There, Josie pulls off the ultimate camouflage: dating Adrian, the Harvard-bound son of the most influential man in town.
But her smokescreen is blown when Adrian breaks up with her during his high school graduation party, and Josie’s poorly executed act of revenge lands her big-time trouble—jail alongside the last person she’d want to share a mugshot with: the mysterious and brooding son of the boat mechanic next door, Lucky Karras.
Forced to spend the summer together in mandatory community service, Josie and Lucky become the talk of their coastal town—shamed, trolled, and publicly disgraced. The weird thing is, Josie starts to not mind, because the pair have more in common than she once thought. A lot more. But during a summer of secrets, in a town built on gossip, everything rises to the surface. Can Josie and Lucky swim past these obstacles, or will they both go down together?
I received this book for free from NetGalley, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:
mention of the loss of a family member (off-page), burns, near-death incident, leaked nudes, hospitalization, sexual harrasment, slut-shaming, broken ankle, sea-sickness,car accident, abortion (briefly mentioned), teen pregnancy, absentee parent, depression, mention of a panic attack.
I’ve been loving Jenn Bennett’s books for a little while now and Chasing Lucky wasn’t an exception to this rule. Thinking about it again, I feel like it’s one of my favorite books by hers, now. Always on the move with her mother, Josie returns to her small hometown in New England to take care of the family’s bookstore and finds herself confronted both to her past relationships and her family’s tumultuous past.
There’s just so much to love about Chasing Lucky. The childhood friends to strangers to friends again to more trope, my favorite ever. The adorable New England small town setting, where you can feel the salt in the sea and cobblestones. The complex family and mother-daughter relationship. The way Jenn Bennett manages to juggle between romance, family and self-discovery in a well-rounded contemporary overall.
Definitely recommending this one to all fans of YA contemporary reads.
FINAL RATING : 4 drops!
Other books by Jenn Bennett I read and reviewed:
Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer Published by Feiwel & Friends on November 3, 2020
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Macmillan INTL, Edelweiss
Buy on Amazon, Book Depository, Wordery, Barnes & Noble, Publisher, Bookshop
Goodreads
In this contemporary romance with a bit of magic, chronic overachiever Prudence Daniels is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, during a night out with her friends, she slips on a spilled drink and hits her head, only to wake up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to karaoke hecklers, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire — Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner and all-around mortal enemy. Over the course of a summer, Pru begins to uncover truths about Quint, her peers, and even herself that reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed... love and hate.
I received this book for free from Macmillan INTL, Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:
homophobic remarks, description of wounded animals (seals).
I really enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s previous work in fantasy and sci-fi and was eager to read Instant Karma to see what she could do in the contemporary genre. I’m a little sad to say I was disappointed by some parts of this book, even if, as a whole, Instant Karma managed to entertain me.
The whole idea behind this story of a main character casting instant karma on others was unique and very original, but I feel like its potential wasn’t completely brought to light, here. While, from the synopsis, I expected this to be the main drive of the book, it really… wasn’t.
Another thing that disappointed me in this book is just how long it took me to warm up to the main character, Prudence. Despite these drawbacks, Instant Karma kept me entertained with its sweet enemies-to-lovers romance, its great setting of the rescue center and focus on sea animals and their protection.
My own expectations were a bit too high for that one. I think I prefer Marissa Meyer as a creator-extraordinaire of fantastic worlds than as a contemporary writer. Still, this was a fun read overall!
FINAL RATING : 3,5 drops!
Other books by Marissa Meyer I read and reviewed:
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Did you read Chasing Lucky and/or Instant Karma? Do you want to?
What are some of your latest contemporary reads? Let me know in comments!
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Everybody loved Chasing Lucky. I liked it, just not didn’t love it. I am thinking it must have been my mood or something. There were a lot of good things about it. Great review.
Oh I get that, some books are great but they fail to wow you, just because you’re not in the right mood for them. Thank you so much! 🙂
Well . I have just recently received the ARC of Instant karma and I need to pick it up. Great review as always 🥰🎈
Ahh I hope you will enjoy it 🙂
I was really interested to know what a friend thought of Instant Karma, as I was on the fence about whether I should invest my time in it. I don’t think I’ll be doing that after this review. I was hoping for more of a story that focused on the instant karma part. 😅
All of Jenn Bennett’s covers are so adorable. 😍 Maybe I’ll pick one up when I need something fluffy. Thanks for sharing your opinions, Marie. 💕
Thank you so much ah I’m so happy my review could be helpful to you <3 I get that. I expected it to be way more focused on the whole instant karma thing than it was, too.
Thank you!! <3
I love Alex Approximately so I’ve been wanting to read more Jenn Bennett books! Chasing Lucky seems to be perfect for the season so I think I’m going to read that next 🙂 Lovely review, Marie!
AH yay! I hope you’ll love it as much as I did! 🙂
Bennett has yet to fail me, and I really enjoyed Chasing Lucky. Lucky and Josie were a great couple, but I loved the family dynamics in this one too. Sadly, I DNFed Instant Karma. I hope Prudence grows by the end of the book, but it was just too angsty for me. I am not in the mood for that right now.
Oh yes, I agree with you! I loved the family dynamics so much in Chasing Lucky, too <3
I'm sorry to hear Instant Karma wasn't for you! I get tht, though, Prudence was a bit tough to love at first.
Thank you so, so much, Sam!
I also read Chasing Lucky. It was my first Jenn Bennett book, and I’m excited to read more by her now. I thought it was a super cute YA contemporary romance. Great review!
I’ve been curious about Instant Karma, but it will probably not make it to the top of my list.
AH yay! I hope you’ll love Jenn Bennett’s books, they’re all so, so good, I adore them all <3 Thank you so much! 🥺
Great reviews, Marie! I can’t wait to read Chasing Lucky. I am currently reading Instant Karma now. 🙂
Ahh I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it 🙂 Thank you! 🥺
I’ve actually been super wary of Instant Karma, mainly because this is yet another book which doesn’t understand the idea of karma, mainly that karma is supposed to be counted in rebirth so technically there’s no instant karma. Sigh. Yeah media has really messed that one up. I really do love The Lunar Chronicles though so I’m just gonna keep my distance from this book and stick to Meyer’s sci-fi works 🙂
I think that’s best! If it was entertaining as a whole, I really think Meyer is better at writing fantastic worlds than contemporary 🙂
Oh I love these reviews Marie!! I’ve been keen on reading from Jenn Bennet and also super keen on Instant Karma <3<3 sending love your way
Oh thank you! I hope you’ll love both of these 🙂
I read Instant Karma a couple weeks ago and didn’t love it either. I also felt there wasn’t a lot of “instant karma” in the book in the first place. And I’d be ok with Prudence being a jerk if there were something…more. It was such a predictable story of “jerk character learns to be nice.”
I’m glad I’m not alone feeling this way! I was a little disappointed by it, I expected much more instant karma in the story.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts <3